Jonric: In what ways and to what degree have you involved members of the Gaia community in the process of creating zOMG!?

Dave Georgeson: Our community was extremely important in the entire process of developing zOMG! and it was created with them specifically in mind. We've solicited feedback from them all along the way; we held a contest for our members to name it, hosted focus groups with them, and included them in our beta program.

Community members can hang out with their friends in Barton Town or enjoy mini-games like Simon Says or golf, plus they can engage in battle against monsters and go on quests.

It's also important to us that we make a really fun game to play. Our team is comprised of gamers, and we wanted to create something that would be entertaining for both Gaia users and the overall video game community. We think we've achieved that with zOMG!

Jonric: Would you care to say anything further about the overall setting players will see and experience? Can the expect the storyline to evolve and advance?

Dave Georgeson: When players enter zOMG!, they will soon discover the game's overarching storyline in which something or someone is making inanimate objects come alive around the countryside and towns of Gaia. The residents are doing their best to defend against the aggressive objects, but someone must explore the world and unravel the mystery.

As players progress through the game, the story evolves, and as time goes on, we will add more elements to the storyline. Since we are building a Flash, browser-based MMO with no hardware or downloads to purchase, we can expand it seamlessly for our audience - not only with new zones and characters, but also with the narrative.

Zen Garden

Jonric: What would you like the readers to know about the game's style of art direction? What major factors have influenced it?

Dave Georgeson: Gaia Online has really been influenced by anime, and we've created our own take that really resonates with people because it's very detailed and colorful. We brought this into zOMG! and we have a fantastic group of artists who have created beautiful worlds and environments as well as monsters and characters. The art style really gives us license to have a lot of fun with everything.

In addition, the virtual world of Gaia comes from a storyline expressed in manga comics, and we add to it on the site fairly regularly. This has given us another outlet to express and share the environment... through the artwork.

Jonric: What type of gameworld have you created? Does it incorporate many different types of terrains and environments?

Dave Georgeson: zOMG! is really a vast, expansive world, and will continue to grow over time. Currently, we have 16 zones available for players to explore during the open beta testing phase, and this will increase when we have the official launch. Naturally, we'll continue to expand afterwards.

Each terrain in zOMG! is uniquely different, and this diversity and openness to imaginative places is what's particularly unique about our world. We have everything from farms and lagoons to beaches, boardwalks, jungles, underwater caves and more. Our design team has done an incredible job creating these detailed, beautiful environments that give our community interesting places to explore.

Bill's Ranch

Jonric: Do players have many choices when they create their characters? What visible aspects can be customized?

Dave Georgeson: Gaia Online and zOMG! share the same avatar creation system, so the design you have in one is the former is the same as in the game. Players can choose race, gender, physical features and clothing. You can customize your look with wardrobe items and purchase features from our marketplace. The tool is very intuitive to use, and it's easy to go back and make changes to your wardrobe at any time.

Jonric: How does the ring system function? How broad is the total assortment? How are they acquired? How many can you own? How many can you wear at a time?

Dave Georgeson: As players play through the world, they will find special rings that can be worn to give them powers (skills). These can include anything from moving a little faster to being a bit luckier or healing faster, and to more extreme examples such as creating self-animated swords that fight for you, projecting movable force fields around allies, to even crazier things like wrapping an opponent in duct tape or throwing an angry hornet's nest like a grenade.

Players can wear a maximum of eight rings at any time (one on each finger) and can collect up to 40. Also, shuffling character abilities around after receiving them is easy; simply wear different ones that were stored in inventory. This flexibility of skill sets makes for a very convenient and fun advancement system.

Jonric: Are there any other forms of advancement such as character levels or skills, and how do they function?

Dave Georgeson: Players can level up, challenge fiercer monsters and acquire stronger rings. Since your skills are your rings, you level them up as you play through the game - as opposed to doing so with your character.

If you want to adventure with lower-level friends, just put on your newbie rings, and go play with them. The system is very flexible and casually oriented.

Jonric: To what degree is the gameplay oriented toward combat versus other activities that are more social or at least non-violent in nature? And will there be any PvP?

Dave Georgeson: Unlike conventional MMOs and even other casual ones, zOMG! emphasizes the community experience. Players band together to combat villains in PvE, but they don't fight each other in PvP.

Also unlike most MMOs, ours blends social networking with casual play. Community members can hang out with their friends in Barton Town or enjoy mini-games like Simon Says or golf, plus they can engage in battle against monsters and go on quests.

There will be no PvP with the initial launch of the game. It will just be lots of player vs. environment at the beginning. As I said, zOMG! puts a good deal of weight on the community aspect where players band together to combat villains, but they don't fight each other.